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The third Test Match between the West Indies and India ended on Saturday with yet another thumping 237-run. In between, however, the Caribbeans seem to wake up from their slumber to compete on equal footing to draw the second Test. Meanwhile, people have been condemning this series as “boring,” and “one-sided.”
Obviously, there is some truth to that. But what about the fact that the Indians, who used to be such notoriously poor performers apoad, are performing these dayswith aplomb? Since the end of 2014, they have played 11 Tests outside India: against Australia, the number one cricket playing nation in the world, they lost two; lost a Test against Sri Lanka; and won four. Not terribly impressive figures, but when you compare it with the previous three tours in which they lost seven out of twelve, winning just one, it is much better.
The Second Test at Jamaica was drawn primarily for two reasons: rain, and the sudden rear guard action by the West Indies. India had scored 500-9. The West Indies, 196. Then, in their second inning, on a severely rain-affected fourth day, the Caribbeans limped to 48-4. Everyone expected a massive victory for India. Their best batsmen were back in the pavilion. On the fifth morning, the Indian team was a crouching tiger, ready for the kill.
What they didn’t anticipate was the hidden dragon.
Reston Chase and Jermain Blackwood are relatively new to Test Cricket. For Chase, this was his second Test Match. But already he had taken a five wicket haul in India’s inning, and on this fifth day of the Test Match, Chase scored an unbeaten 137 (only nineteen other test players out of some 1,954 have achieved such a feat!). Blackwood, Dorwich and the captain Jason Holder kept him company, each of them scoring a half-century. With a score of 388-6, the West Indians had saved the Test!
What happened? Why such a turn around? The Indian captain, Virat Kohli, generously complimented the opposition’s batting performance.He pointed out, however,that the pitch itself had gone a bit flat (meaning runs were easier to score), and that the runs were scored easily also because India attacked from the outset. The more attacking the field placements, with fielders crouching near the batsmen to grab the bat-and-pad catches, the pop-ups caused by inadvertent defensive shots, the more the batsmen get opportunities to score by forcing their strokes. Had the lead been only about 100 or so, Kohli explained, India might have been more defensive, tried the opponent’s patience, yielding wickets. And, although Kohli didn’t say it, they lost hope.
The Fourth Test wasn’t too dissimilar in terms of circumstances. Here too, a whole day was lost to rain. Here too, there were two Indian centurions, Ravichandran Ashwin (yes, again!) and Wridhiman Saha getting his maiden hundred helping India to a sizeable first inning lead.In the second inning the West Indies were required to score 356 in the fourth inning to win the match. But here the comparison ended. The hosts folded tamely for only 108, conceding a huge victory to the Indians.
The difference is, Kohli explained, they learned from the previous Test. Circumstances should not deter the team from pressing for victory. Think of it as an opportunity to win, not a chance lost. Thus, taking their inspiration from a devastating spell from Bhubaneshwar Kumar in the first inning, when, taking five wickets, he pought the West Indies down from 202-3 to 225 all out, the Indian pacers relentlessly attacked the opposition in the second inning, with irritatingly accurate bowling at fairly high speeds, and razor-sharp fielding. The victory at Gross-Islet was as decisive as the one in Antigua. Even the draw in Jamaica might not have been a draw had it not rained for most of one day. The Indian team has been professional and purposeful, winning the two Tests with surgical precision.
But once again let us remind this young team not to gloat. Remember who the opposition is. Remember, too, what lies ahead: England and Australia.
And remember what Yudhishtir of the Mahabharat said: an example of victory is defeat. Be humble.
(The writer is Professor of English and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Boricua College in NYC. He writes regularly for The South Asian Times.)